I SAW HER IN THE MIRROR

Chapter 2

"Dad, it's awesome!!" I exclaimed in awe. I never thought I would like surprises.

Everyone was just as excited as me. Mom was singing along to 'I walk the line', while dad was driving the car we hired for the week and Sam was just like always: restless and bouncing in his seat. Everything seemed to be right.

"Mom, how long is it gonna take?" Sam asked.

"The place is on the outskirts of the city dear. You'd have to wait for some more time." Mom explained, still keeping her eyes on the road.

"Uhh! I can't wait to get there." Sam whined, disappointed that he had to wait for some more time.

"It's clearly visible from your not so contained energy Sam." I said as I looked out of the window.

Even I couldn't wait to see the cottage, but I was more focused on relishing what I had at that moment. The distant mountains, covered in the veil of clouds under the clear sky, seemed to have a magical effect on me. I hadn't seen anything so magnificent in my sixteen year old life, given it was the first time I was visiting a place that was not just another city. The sight was just... heavenly and I knew I could never get tired of it.

After about an hour, we finally reached the cottage. But I wasn't in the mood to go for an outing. I was drained of all the energy I had by sitting in the car for so long. My legs had gone numb to the extent that I didn't even have the energy, nor did I have the will to get out of the bed. Doing nothing at the time seemed like a golden idea. Thankfully, everyone was exhausted too. So we decided to do the exploration tomorrow and take some much needed rest.

I was woken up from my four hour long sleep by a strange guttural sound. For a second, I thought that I hadn't completely woken up. I called for mom and dad, but no one responded. I called again, still no reply. I slowly headed towards the porch. It was already dark outside and the constant and steadily amplifying sound coming from there didn't make it any better. I gathered some courage and slowly stuttered, "M.. M-M... Mom?"

A sound seemed to come out of nowhere that shrieked, "Yes honey."

A maniac scream involuntarily erupted from my lungs. Hands came from beside me and landed on my shoulders, rooting me to the ground. My heart was roaring in my throat. I wanted to shout and run away, call for mom or dad or anybody, but my body was paralyzed and any sound refused to come out of my mouth.